Qualcomm settles with Taiwan and thus avoids a fine of 584 million euros

The Taiwanese Fair Trade Commission waives the collection of an earlier fine of 665 million euros imposed on Qualcomm. The regulator imposed this fine for abuse of its dominant position, but both parties have reached a settlement.

The settlement means that the fine has largely been lifted. In exchange, Qualcomm pays more than 81 million euros; that is the initial, already paid part of the total fine. According to the American chip designer, there are no further amounts that it still has to pay. The Japanese business newspaper Nikkei, among others, reports that there is another condition that Qualcomm has signed. As part of the settlement, the company is said to have agreed to invest a total of EUR 611 million in Taiwan over a five-year period.

Hong Tsai-Lung, a member of the regulator, said this money is being used to help Taiwan develop 5G technology. Qualcomm confirms that it will support Taiwanese commercial initiatives in the next five, but does not specify an investment amount.

The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission fined approximately 665 million euros in October 2017 for allegedly abusing Qualcomm’s powerful position in the form of its mobile network patents. According to the authority, Qualcomm did not want to grant licenses to certain companies, while the company is obliged to do so with patents that are essential for the implementation of 2G, 3G and 4G technologies in phones. Qualcomm faces similar issues in other countries; for example, at the beginning of 2018 the EU imposed a fine of almost one billion euros.